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s p e c k l e d l e a f

medicine cat, riverclan

Speckledleaf sat in her den, eyeing the herbs in front of her. She had already counted them once. She had extra stocks of a lot of things -- all she had been doing the past couple of days was hunting for herbs.

She looked up at the skylight filtering in through the roof of her den. She had been doing that a lot lately. Hoping for some magical sign, like a StarClan cat appearing before her. Or maybe even a shooting star. Anything to tell her that hope was not lost.

She wished with all her heart that the expedition to the Moonstone would turn up something. She also wished for something to do. Gathering herbs could only get a cat so far...

[|{/Bloodrose\}|]

The dark gray she-cat had retired to her nest early that evening, just as the sun had begun its descent. She'd ensured the Clan was fairing well, she'd even made sure to eat something, as to not raise suspicions too much. The truth was that she wasn't feeling quite herself. It had been a progressive change, slowly creeping up on her throughout the day. It had started as a raw throat, which she had seemingly fought off with a nice long drink of water early in the morning. Later in the day, she had started noticing a sort of headache, which she had subdued slightly by having a bite to eat. By the evening, she was feeling an odd tightness in her chest, and her throat was sore, making speaking a little difficult for her. She hadn't thought much of it, but retired early, hoping that a good night's rest would do her some good.

It was some time later in the evening that the RiverClan leader was woken up by a bought of coughs. They shook her so violently that pieces of her nest managed to scatter themselves tail lengths away from her nest. Hailstorm rolled to her paws, head low, jaws snapping shut as she tried to muffle the coughs. She wasn't sure how long she coughed for, but by the time to fit had stopped, she found herself exhausted, and her throat felt worse than ever, as though something were trying to claw it's way up from her stomach. Her hind legs seemed to just collapse beneath her, leaving the gray she-cat in an awkwardly seated position. Her breath came in sharp pants, even though the cool air being sucked into her throat succeeded only in causing more aggravation.

It wasn't until a second, and then third fit of coughs left her shaking and breathless that Hailstorm gathered what little energy she could muster to stagger out of her den. Her pale eyes shone beneath the moonlight, which managed to bring life to her otherwise dull gray-ish green gaze. Her coat shone almost completely white beneath the moon, but the way she looked was the least of her concern at that moment. It showed too, in the way certain tufts of her usually carefully groomed fur stuck out at ridiculous angles. After some time, and by some miracle, she was able to pick her way from her den to the medicine cat's den without slipping and falling, and possibly injuring herself.

Her steps were slow, almost as though she were too sore to move, when the truth was she felt as though she had no energy left, no muscles that could possibly function. The multiple fits of coughs had sapped her energy and left her feeling as though she had spent all day swimming against the current of the powerful river. By the time she pushed her way through the entrance to RiverClan's medicine cat den, both her head and tail hung low. Her paws seemed clumsy as she half walked, half fell through the entrance. "Speckledleaf..." She rasped, her voice hoarse from the coughing. Her exhausted eyes dragged up towards the medicine cat, and as the leader was taken by a fourth fit of coughs, she could no longer find the energy to hold herself up, collapsing near the entrance.

The diagnosis was unknown to the RivedClan leader. What she knew for sure was that all those nightmares and near-sleepless nights had begun to add up, leaving her so exhausted that she couldn't even try to keep composure. Tired eyes rolled slightly as she continued to hack, unable to control it.